Erase
by Benevolent-Serenity
Summary: In an alternate version of the PH world, 25 year old Oz did NOT go into the Abyss. Instead, he is the Vessalius duke who's living a terribly dull life. One day, he meets a strange man who shows him that everything isn't as it seems. Eventual couple-GilxOz
1. Boredom

Chapter 1: Boredom

In the enigmatic city of Reveil, the years overlap and blend together. The "Era of Tranquility" (where nothing, but conciliatory meetings and trivial events occur) is taking place and has been for many decades. Although war doesn't come and the citizens are safe and sound, life is terribly dull in Reveil. There is no shocking news, no gruesome history or stories to investigate, and no noticeable traces of egotism, rebellion, or greed in her (Reveil's) people.

The prosperous and wealthy noble house that is located in Reveil, the Vessalis house, runs the city with a negligent hand. The Duke, Oz, mainly sits around the house and explores the vapid corridors with his younger sister, Ada. It isn't like Reveil _needs_ any careful observation in its harmonious, almost utopian state anyway.

"Brother what should we do today? I'm bored," Ada sighs while staring at her taller sibling's apple green eyes.

"I have no idea. We can go shopping in the marketplace; maybe the bookstore has the latest volume of _Holy Knight_!" Oz replies. He pats his little sister's head and smiles, hoping that he can solve his sister's dilemma.

"That sounds wonder-..Eh?" she starts to say before a young man clamps his firm, huge hand over her mouth. He gives Oz a disdainful stare while handing him an ornately painted kettle of tea with his free hand.

"Young master Oz, I highly suggest that you not leave the house, it's one of your main obligations to stay in the house. I'll get the book for you," the brunette, glasses-wearing servant warns. He fiddles with the rim of his glasses and gives Oz a deadpanned, vapid stare.

"How boring, Liam! Why exactly did _you_ have to be my valet?" Oz groans while pouting and crossing his scrawny arms.

"That's what the Master orders, I don't make the rules," Liam explains nonchalantly. He smiles softly to his fresh-faced young master.

Oz scowls back. "So? Shouldn't I come first?" he teases, continuing to grimace at his older, more serious servant.

Liam nods to him in reassurance. "You do," he notes, "but I'm also concerned about your safety. Just let me take care of it." He nods once more before leaving and shutting the door behind him.

"Liam's like a robot sometimes, it scares me," Oz comments while staring at the exquisite window in front of him. Outside, a young girl with two poorly braided chocolate braids sells flowers from her little basket to complete strangers while a group of adolescent, 2nd class nobles cluster around a pastry stand with hungry eyes.

"Oz, we can't help it, we have to stay here," Ada sighs, responding to her lean brother's longing stare. "Earth to Oz?" she shouts while tapping his bony shoulder. He flinches in response. "Oh, Ada, hi," he blabbers sheepishly. "I must've spaced out again." Ada laughs jovially at his almost romantic spaciness. "Yes, yes you did," she chimes.

Oz and Ada explore Miss Kate's dinky bedroom out of boredom, since they don't have that much to do anyway. Oz stares at Kate's weathered oak closet and forcefully opens it, releasing a messily stacked pile of wigs. One of them falls on Oz's head without his knowledge.

"I never knew Miss Kate was _that_ into collecting wigs," he laughs, rummaging through the vast array of hairstyles and colors.

Ada stares at her brother and laughs. "Look in the mirror!" she exclaims before pushing him towards the plainly framed piece of glass. Oz giggles at the sight of himself in a girl's wig; one with long, wavy blonde hair. "I look a little like you," he jokes while continuing to laugh at himself. He then looks at his younger sister and grins mischievously.

"Wait a minute…," he pauses, "looking like-…Ada! I have an idea!"

His younger sister gulps and gazes at his devilish grin with concern. "W-what are you planning?" she stutters, the pure definition of puzzle sketched all over her feminine, youthful face.

((Author's comments: Hello everyone!~ It's my first time writing fanfiction for the Pandora Hearts series, so my interpretations of the characters aren't exactly perfect. Oh well. Critique is appreciated, since I'm far from perfect and need to learn, but just reading the story is an honor for me as well. I hope you like it so far. ))


	2. Searching

Chapter 2: Searching

"We should disguise as each other! You can take my post for me and I can tell you stories about the ordinary folks' world!" Oz exclaims, beaming happily in satisfaction. "Oz!" Ada shrieks, "That's a risky plan. Plus, I don't look a thing like you." She sighs and shakes her head.

Oz looks at Ada with pleading green eyes. "It'll work if we find a wig for you," he explains, pointing to the vapid and colorful pile of hair, "plus, we can swap outfits and such." Ada groans, her uncertainties with Oz's ideas were growing stronger.

"Move your hair," Oz requests while plopping a spiky blond wig on top of Ada. She stares at the mirror and grumbles. "I still don't think this will work, Oz, and it isn't worth it. Besides, I'm in my teens and you're _25_. It's easy to figure out that," she starts to rant before Oz grabs a pile of spare clothes and throws it in her direction. "Here," he grins while putting the wigs back in Miss Kate's fake wood closet and dashing out the room.

"I guess it's too late to turn back now…brother has his sights set on this," she thinks to herself while looking at the spiky wig pitifully.

The vendors of the Reveil open marketplace sing a euphony of calls that advertise their products.

"_Meat! Meat! I've got fresh cuts of meat!"_

"_Kittens! Who wants an adorable, fuzzy kitten?"_

"_Pocket watches! Come get your pocket watches!"_

In the midst of these chants (and the gossip of everyday consumers), Oz quietly pushes his way through the crowd to explore. His dainty frame is hidden in a frill, overly poufy lavender dress that he "borrowed" from Ada's gigantic collection of clothes. His short, spiky hair is also covered up by a long, wavy-haired, cheap wig.

"Hey," a voice calls out while grabbing Oz by the corset-covered waist, "I've never seen _you_ in these parts, and I'm sure that I'd remember a pretty face like yours."

"Oh, thanks," Oz chimes while grimacing inside. The man that the voice belongs to has a shabby appearance, with greasy fire-red hair, red sores that glowed all over his face, and flimsy clothes. "What's your name, miss? I'm Fritz Mueller," he slimily greets, putting his arm around Oz's shoulder. He feels a shiver go down his spine, but resists the urge to flinch.

"I'm Ophelia," he gleefully chirps while giving Fritz a cheesy and obviously fake grin. "Oh…I'm new here. Since you seem to know this area well, can you please show me the way?" he asks Fritz, staring at him with puppy dog eyes. "For someone like you, of course I will," Fritz responds in an overly exaggerated tone. His small, beady turquoise eyes are fixated on "Ophelia", nor on the road or anything else. Oz notices this and looks away from Fritz's scornful face.

While Fritz raves about the famous statue of Jack Vessalius and his story, Oz silently creeps away from Fritz's sight. Fritz, being engrossed with impressing "Ophelia" with his plethora of knowledge, fails to notice that he's talking to a nonexistent audience. He only continues talking as Oz runs as fast as he can towards an empty and dense forest in the distance.

"I couldn't stand being with him for another minute, he gives me the creeps," he bitterly remarks while shuddering. He grabs "his" frilly dress and lifts up its skirts so that he can cross the muddy, smelly bog without ruining his sister's possession. "Maybe this wasn't a good idea after all," the young cross-dressing duke ponders, staring at the pitch-black night sky. The forest backdrop only adds to the mysterious appearance of a starless night. The sounds of owls, crickets, and crows lingers in the air and despite Oz's presence, the forest looks untouched and lost to the world.

The uncertain look on Oz's boyish face slowly transforms into a curious grin. "I bet this has quite a few neat hideaways! I'm sure that Ada won't mind waiting a bit longer," he asserts to himself while observing every little detail in the forest precariously.

In what seems like seconds to the overly curious blonde, Oz ends up on the other side of the dark forest. Right next to the passage between the shady trees and civilization is a sign that says "Reveil, 3 mi". The landscape around the trees is far from subpar; it's a sparkling lake with the moon reflected on it, surrounded by strands of wild grass, cattails, and various species of flowers that Oz has never seen before in his life. Sitting by the unspoiled lake is someone with long, straight blonde hair that is even longer than Ada's and a black coat that droops down to the floor. Slowly and cautiously, Oz tiptoes to the mysterious person of the lake.

"Sit down Oz, no need to be shy," the person coolly soothes to Oz when he is directly behind him/her. Oz instinctively sits down, careful not to ruin his sister's tight, luxurious dress. The person's attention is on the water below, so Oz can only see the long bangs that cover his/her face.

"How do you know my name?" Oz asks with a puzzled expression etched on his face.

"Let's just say that I've heard _a lot_ about you and all the wonderful things that you've done," he/she responds while turning his/her attention to Oz. Oz scrutinizes the stranger's face, now that it is in view. It's clear that this person is a man. Although his face isn't exactly chiseled, it's definitely more handsome than cute. There's one peculiar thing that Oz notices about him though: his eyes. They are in different colors, his right eye is the color of fools' gold and his left eye is wine red. Oz is fixated on the man's bizarre eye colors; he hasn't seen anyone with gold eyes let alone red.

"Who exactly are you?" he manages to gasp before he's yet again distracted by the man's irregular features.

"I'm Vincent, just Vincent," he retorts with a sly grin.

Oz is far from satisfied with Vincent's blunt answer. "Nothing else?" he asks.

"Hmm," Vincent hums while pondering to himself, "I _suppose_ the Dukeof Vessalius deserves to know the truth. I'm a child of misfortune, Oz. You shouldn't go near me," he clarifies, grinning malevolently.

Vincent's imitating stare is enough to convince Oz that he's not lying under his breath. His heart starts beating faster (and FASTER) than any other time in his life. His instincts scream to "run like hell" and forget about exploring for a few days, but when Oz tries to move one muscle, Vincent clutches his right arm in a grip too tight to escape from. "Why are you running away?" he unstably laughs while holding a pair of blood-stained scissors. Gradually, the scissor's blades move closer and closer to Oz's neck until he could feel their sharp ends poking him. Oz tries to struggle free, but fails miserably as Vincent's grip tightens.

"Don't worry…I'll release you soon enough. Just listen to what I have to say and you'll be fine," Vincent assuages to Oz while grinning exuberantly. Oz shuts his mouth and listens closely to what the insane man has to say, hoping that he's truthful to his word.

"I have an older brother," he confesses, "He, unlike myself, will not bring any misfortune to anyone. In fact, he's a really good and virtuous person. Sadly, he doesn't seem to think that way. A few weeks ago, he shut himself from society due to believing that he harbors the same curse that I have. If I find him, then he'll just run away again, so _you_ should find him for me. His name is Gilbert, but he goes by the alias Raven. To see him again…it's all I want." Vincent drops his pair of scissors and releases Oz from his grasp.

Oz nods. "How will I know it's him and not someone else though?" he shakily inquires.

"You'll see…he's _very_ easy to notice," Vincent softly chimes. "Also, before I go, Oz, remember: I _will_ know if you look for him or not. If you don't, I'll be coming after you," he adds before disappearing from the scene completely. Oz gulps and runs back into the forest.

Vincent ends up hiding above the daunting trees and floating in the night sky, surrounded by a canvas of blue and black colors. "Go find him," he whispers, "don't let me down."


	3. Noise

Chapter 3: Noise

Oz has no idea how he manages to get back home before anyone notices that he is missing. He arrives to a ticked Ada, who shrieks when she glimpses that her _favorite_ party dress is tattered and covered in burs. Liam is nowhere to be found, causing Oz to wonder if that freaky Vincent guy did something to him.

"At least you came back _somewhat_ safe," Ada sighs while giving Oz a pathetic smile. "I'll just say that one of the servant's pets dragged my dress outside," she adds, staring at the once-beautiful article of clothing with aghast.

Oz yawns. He had walked 6 miles to and fro his "hidey hole" to get home and his feet were aching because of it. All he wants to do now is plop into bed and retire for the night.

So, he does just that.

_The kindly furnished Vessalius ballroom glows from the bright light nearby. An oversized, cackling fire burns all remnants of the room, leaving everything into dusty piles of ash. Bodies of various members of nobility are scattered all over the floor with each corpse donning expensive garments. In the middle of the lavishly decorated room is one alive child with short blonde hair, different colored eyes (gold and maroon), and a blood-stained white gown._

_ "It isn't my fault! It's his! All of this is his fault!" he screams while twirling around the room and laughing erratically. Once he's done spinning, he wobbles towards one of the corpses and falls to the ground. He picks himself up first and the corpse second, dragging the dead body by the arm. "Let's go," he innocently whispers in the corpse's ear before toddling towards the hall._

_ He stops right before the ballroom fully crumbles to the ground, leaving only a pile of bricks, bodies, and ash. "I did this for you. Everything and anything I do is for you," he murmurs to the corpse before leaning into the corpse's angelic, but bloody face. The corpse's lifeless gold eyes stare at the child, its pupils enlarged and motionless._

_ The child can't help, but grin maliciously when looking at the corpse's face. He leans closer into the corpse until their faces were touching. He then wraps his chubby fingers around the body's raven black hair. "I love you," he breathes softly while the grin on his face grew even nastier and seductive. Pressing his lips on the corpse's, he indulges in a sloppy kiss._

_ "Ah," he gasps after pulling away from the limp body and its cold lips. He pulls the body over his shoulder and presses his hands to the ground, causing a black hole to appear beneath his feet. The scene fades into a sea of black, with the only sound being the child's echoing words._

_ "Older brother, this is for you."_

"What was that?" Oz gasps as he springs out of oversized bed. He usually dreams about himself and the many things he wishes to do (pull tricks on Liam, get a girlfriend, explore, etc.), but this one scares him instead of giving him motivation. It doesn't help that each mortifying detail is playing over and over again in his brain despite that he already woke up.

"Was that kid…_Vincent_? Why was he in my house and destroying it?" he asks himself while pushing the thick covers on the other side of the bed. He half-mindedly crawls out of bed and onto the floor, where he just stares at the wall while trying to regain his consciousness.

Seeing the bloody corpses on the floor makes Oz want to vomit, so he runs towards his personal bathroom and stays there for an hour or so. "I'm going to be sick…" he queasily moans while running.

The wafting smell from the bathroom gives Oz a further feeling of nausea, but he ignores the urge to gag in favor of starting his morning routine. In a matter of seconds, he washes his face, puts on a pair of fine clothes (The only type of clothes he has), and brushes his messy morning bed head.

He dashes towards the kitchen, where Liam and Ada are already seated. "Good morning, young master Oz," Liam greets in monotone. Oz lazily waves back and seats himself, hoping that the family cooks serve some water with his breakfast. The taste of vomit lingers in his mouth and it irritates him greatly.

"Can we go bird-watching today, Liam?" Oz asks politely, staring at the brunette with the most innocent expression on his face that he can muster. "There's a type of bird that I want to see." Liam stares at Oz with confusion. "You usually find bird-watching boring, young master, what brings this sudden change?" he asks, raising his eyebrows. "I want to see…," Oz starts to say, trying to figure out a type of bird that is in season (he actually just wants to run outside when Liam isn't looking). "Uh…I want to see…a _raven_," he blabbers without thinking, causing everyone in the room to stare at him with bewilderment.

"Uh…, young master Oz, you can't even see ravens at this time of year. They don't even come to Reveil no matter the season. You can see hummingbirds and songbirds now," Liam insipidly reminds Oz. He tries to hide his urge to laugh at his foolish master, but fails. Ada laughs along with him. "Are you imagining ravens out the window, like how you used to swear that you saw a grey haired girl outside?" she cutely squeaks.

"No," Oz replies bluntly, "I just want to see one." He grins cheesily, hoping that it will back up the thin lie. "I see," his glasses-bearing valet concludes as he gives Oz an expressionless smile. "So you_ can_ smile after all!" Oz comments, causing Ada to laugh and Liam to grimace. "When's breakfast?" he adds impatiently while his stomach rumbles loudly. "Soon," Ada chuckles as she smiles jovially.

A plainly dressed servant with curly red hair brings the three of them their breakfast. Oz, being the heir of the Vessalius name, receives the finest meal of the three: smoked goose, imported cheeses, fruity red wine, and cranberries. Between bites, Liam hands Oz some news that might be of assistance to him. "The duchess of the Rainsworth Family, the duke of the Barma family, and the duke of the Nightray family has arranged to visit here to speak with you tomorrow," he announces while chewing pieces of stale bread. "They also wish to plan a social get together later in the month," he adds.

"Why would the Nightrays want anything to do with us? They have never participated in any previous meetings that involve the Vessalius family," Oz suspiciously questions in between servings of goose and gulps of wine.

"I can't say, young master. Maybe it's a change of heart? This is an era of peace you know," Liam predicts while cleaning up his crumb covered face.

"Maybe," Oz replies doubtfully while rolling his eyes. "Why now?" he ponders to himself while pushing his plate to the middle of the spacious table. "I'm finished," he announces as he gets up from his chair. "Tell the cooks that the food was good, Liam," he adds.

"Will do," Liam replies, watching as Oz causally walks away from the kitchen quarters.

"Why did I have to mention ravens out of all birds? It's obvious that they never come here," he groans while strolling across the hall. Then, Vincent's words play in his head: _"I have an older brother….his name is Gilbert, but he uses goes by the alias Raven."_

"Oh, right, I have to look for him or else Vincent will have my head," Oz shudders. "Just where will I find someone that I don't even know, looks-wise?" he wonders while scratching his head. He ponders to himself, wondering where to start.

"Oh! I know!" Oz exclaims as he snaps his fingers. "I was wondering when I'd have a chance to go to _that_ room again. I've only been there twice." He skulks across the hall, hiding in a broom closet whenever someone else walks by. In a matter of what feels like hours of sneaking, Oz reaches his destination. In front of him is a laughingly plain wooden door with a white doorknob on it. "Here it is," he thinks to himself with a satisfied grin. Hesitantly, he opens the door and carefully steps down the worn stairs nearby. The railing feels slippery and the stairs creak with each step. Once he's downstairs, he enters a vacant and eerily silent room with the only sign or past life being a cage on the wall.

"This room hasn't a changed a bit, and it's been ten years since I've last been here," he observes while taking out a necklace from his shorts pocket. The necklace is oddly simple in design for someone so royal; it consists only of a petite mirror around a golden chain. "I don't even know if this will guarantee my chances of finding Raven or not, but it's worth a try. It's not like I'll have another chance to use this blood mirror anyway," Oz mumbles as he breathes in slowly and…blanks out. "Wait…_how_ do I use this? I forgot," he demands, puzzled.

Fumbling with the mirror, Oz tries to remember how to activate his chain. He fails and grows frustrated. Throwing the mirror to the ground, he stamps his foot and then sighs. "At least I'm not in any danger," he grumbles before pouting. Then he looks at the cage behind him. Behind the cage is no more than a sea of nothing; no walls, no doors, _nothing_. Clumsily, he walks over to the cage (without picking up the mirror) and reaches towards it, sticking out of his hands between the bars.

Nothing happens, which makes Oz disappointed. "Oh well," he sighs pitifully as he picks up the mirror, puts it in his pocket, and painstakingly trudges up the stairs. When Oz goes back into the normal levels of the house, everything's still the same. Oz pouts in continuing disappointment, expecting something, _anything_ to happen. "I was warned by Liam that something would happen if I did that, but I guess he was lying," he clamors while walking the hall. As he walks, a strange sound pierces his ears. "Ow, what was that?" Oz yells as he covers his ears. Then, an annoying buzzing noise echoes in his ears. The buzzing only grew louder and he walks farther and farther away from the secret room.

The noise leads the young duke to the old guest house next door where he had his coming of age ceremony. It came from the Clock Tower of Silence, which is usually…_silent_. "I must be imagining things, it can't be coming from here," Oz laughs while staring directly at the withered clock.

"Just why is it ringing again? This is a bad sign...," a male's voice looms in the distance. Oz turns his head to see one other person who's standing on the other side of the room. Since he can't fully see the man from such a far distance, he moves closer to get a better look at him. From what Oz can see, the man is breathtakingly tall and slender. He wears a black coat that reaches a little below his knees and has wavy black hair to match.

The face of the corpse from his dream flashes before Oz's eyes. "They look similar, but they're probably not the same person," he whispers. He sedulously tiptoes towards the other side of the room, hoping that the stranger doesn't notice his presence. "For some reason, this feels nostalgic…" he deliberates while tiptoeing quietly. Just before he finds a place to hide and watch more closely, he trips on a handgun that somebody dropped. "Ow!" Oz whimpers in pain.

The man tenses his shoulders. "Just what was that?" he mutters to himself before turning his head. He notices the blonde man within seconds. "O-Oz?" he stutters, "What are you doing here?"

((Author's comments: Heck yeah, Mister Seaweed-head finally makes an appearance in the story! It took me long enough. Anyway, this is my favorite chapter so far, mainly because…okay, I _don't _have a reason. It's just my personal opinion. As usual, critique/comments are appreciated, but just reading the story makes my day. Oh yeah, and expect a ))


	4. The Encounter

Chapter 4: The Encounter

"How do you know my name?" Oz asks. He feels a sense of déjà vu; didn't he ask Vincent this exact same question when he first met him?

The wavy-haired man stares at Oz blankly. "I've heard one person talk about you, that's all," he replies calmly while picking up the stray handgun that fell on the floor. "Again, what are _you _doing here? Can't you hear the Clock Tower of Silence ringing? Something bad might happen," he stresses as the calm expression on his face fades into one of pure worry.

"I followed something and it led me here," Oz bluntly answers, putting his hands on his hips. "How_ do _you know if something bad is going to happen or not? Nothing bad ever happens here," he adds, eyeing the man suspiciously.

"I've seen something happen before when this clock went out of whack, it wasn't pretty. I hope it doesn't happen to you. Anyway, about that sound…did it sound like a lullaby at all?" he replies.

"Huh?" Oz responds, "No, it was far from it. What gave you that idea?" He looks at the stranger with curiosity.

"Oh, nothing, I was just curious," the man rejoins while putting the gun he held back into his pocket. Oz frowns. "He's probably hiding something," he assumes while carefully watching the mysterious stranger. "You know, earlier, you reminded me of someone…," he comments to the taller _and _slimmer stranger. The stranger's face tightens. "Who do I remind you of?" he pipes as cheerily as he can. "A real worry-wart who's always saying that he's concerned with my safety…," Oz starts to explain. The golden-eyed stranger grates his teeth as he listens to the blonde finishing his sentence. "His name's Liam. Do you know him?"

The man sighs in relief. "I do know him, actually. Liam works for Rufus Barma," he notes. Oz looks at the man as if he has an appallingly giant zit on his face. "Huh? He works for me, not for the Barmas. Liam hasn't met Rufus once in his life," he clarifies. "Oh, right…," the man mumbles, shifting his attention to the bare floor.

"Either he's an idiot or he's definitely hiding something," Oz deliberates to himself. "Maybe he_ is_ that corpse from the dream…that could explain why he's so brain-dead."

"Say, do you know someone named Vincent?" he asks politely to the nameless man. The man grimaces at the mention of Vincent. "Not really, why do you ask?" he admits while shaking his head. "He told me to look for someone and it's very difficult. I was wondering if you might know him or his brother," Oz clarifies. The man's eye twitches. "I didn't know he has a brother. What's his name?" he asks while shrugging his shoulders. "I believe that Vincent said that he calls himself Raven," Oz answers in an unsure tone.

"I don't know anyone by that name, but if I see someone called Raven, I'll contact you immediately," the man remarks, nodding his head. He starts to walk out of the room when Oz grabs his arm and asks "What's your name?"

The man stops, dumbfounded. "Oh, uh…" he babbles, "Uh…uh…" He answers with a hasty "It's a secret." Oz pouts. "He _definitely_ hiding something," he concludes while watching the man with a careful eye. "You know my name without my permission, so why can't I know yours?" he whines while clutching to the stranger's arm even tighter than before. The man sighs. "That's true. My name's Gilbert, alight?" he confesses. Oz lets go of his arm, allowing Gilbert to freely walk away from the room. Gilbert pats Oz on the head, smiles, and casually saunters away.

"Bye, Gil," Oz mutters while waving lazily. "I didn't find Raven, but at least I found someone who can help me…suspicious or not. Maybe that'll be enough for that freaky, scissors-wielding creep," he reflects to himself. A second later, Vincent's words play in his mind (again). _"He goes by the alias Raven…his name is Gilbert."_

_"His name is Gilbert. Gilbert…,"_ Vincent's soothing voice echoes in Oz's mind. "So that's his real name. I almost forgot it," Oz comments while walking out of the room. "Wait a minute…" he pauses, "That guy tricked me! He_ is_ Vincent's brother!" he bitterly gripes. As fast as he can, he runs out of the room and into the hallway. "Wait up!" he yells while picking up his pace. A pleased grin creeps along his face when Gilbert is in eyesight. The wavy haired Gilbert saunters in a relaxed manner, unaware of Oz's presence (despite his yelling).

Oz collapses onto the floor when he's a few feet from his target. "Almost made it…" he pants before gradually closing his eyes. Gilbert continues to saunter without a care until a bystander points to Oz's unconscious body. "Is that boy dead?" the person shrieks, panicking and tugging on her hair. Gilbert runs towards the body, panicked, only to find one sleeping Oz. He checks Oz's pulse on his neck only to find that he's still breathing regularly. He sighs in relief. "I know this boy, let me take care of this," he assures to the bystander while picking up Oz's limp body. He carries the lightweight duke to the main Vessalius house and drops him off in the living room.

He leans towards Oz. "Oz, this is for your own good," Gil whispers in his ear, "you should stop searching for me while you can."

Oz shivers while he's asleep. "Nngh, not today…," he sleep-babbles while rolling around the cushy couch. Gilbert quietly laughs and throws his hefty black coat on top of the sleeping blonde. He then tousles Oz's already messy hair and looks at him one last time before walking away.

Once he's out of the house, a shrill girl's voice starts speaking to him.

"What you created…will fall," she warns before her voice fades into nothingness.

Gilbert glowers at his surroundings and sighs. "Just what is going on?" he bitterly gripes while clutching his arm and pitifully looking at himself.

((Author's comments: This chapter is awfully short and consists of…mainly one scene, but that sole scene is very important (and long) so I decided to turn into a standalone chapter. For the next few chapters, there will be less _Author's Comments_ (if at all) so that the focus can be on the story…and not on me. One thing before I go: Did you notice that all of these chapters ended in somebody talking? Hmmm…))


End file.
